A police reservist shot and killed his wife and seven-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in Ermelo, Mpumalanga police said on Friday.
The shooting happened on Thursday after Ekhaniya Mdluli allegedly had an argument with his estranged wife about custody of their child, Captain Leonard Hlathi said.
Social workers conducted an assessment to ascertain whether the child should stay with her father.
“During the negotiations, Mdluli allegedly pulled out a gun he took from one of the police officials who came to monitor the processes, as requested by the social worker,” he said.
“When he pulled out the gun, his wife saw him, took her child and ran away. Mdluli charged at her. After a distance of about 20
meters, she stopped following gunshots.”
It was suspected that he might have fired the shots to force her to stop.
He approached her, shot her in the chest and the child in the head. Both died on the scene. Mdluli then ran away and shot himself in the head.
This was the second incident of this nature in less than two months. - Sapa